NEWFIELDS — Steve Shope recently returned home after spending almost three months in two hospitals after breaking his neck in an April 26 mountain bike accident in Exeter.

Jeff McMenemy

NEWFIELDS — Steve Shope recently returned home after spending almost three months in two hospitals after breaking his neck in an April 26 mountain bike accident in Exeter.

"I'm very happy. I'm not a big fan of hospitals," Shope said during a recent interview at his home.

But Shope returned home a changed man. The small-business owner, volunteer firefighter, town official and mountain biking enthusiast is now paralyzed from the chest down.

He can breathe and talk on his own, and is learning how to operate his voice-activated cell phone and hands-free laptop.

But he acknowledges the changes he has endured have been severe.

"That's been hard, not being able to do anything on my own," Shope said. "I need to have someone with me 24 hours a day to do anything."

But the spirit of adventure and determination that has endeared him to a remarkable circle of devoted friends in Newfields and Exeter will not let him accept life the way it is now.

"I'm determined to get the use of my arms and, eventually, my legs back. I've only been dealing with this for a matter of weeks, but I don't want to live life as a quadriplegic. I want to ... eventually be able to ride again," Shope said.

He repeated that sentiment several times during the interview, smiling at one point and saying life in a wheelchair is "not for me."

His friends believe that if there's anyone who can make what some believe is only a dream become a reality, it's Shope.

Greg Corson is one of Shope's best friends and mountain bike riding buddies who helped create a Web site, Steve Shope Trail to Recovery, at www.trailtorecovery.com, which is raising money for Shope's ongoing medical needs.

Like Shope, he is hopeful his friend will recover from the traumatic injuries he suffered.

"If there's a miracle out there for somebody, he'll earn it," Corson said. "He's going to work very, very hard to get better."

Shope, who Corson said is called "Sarge" by his friends for his take-charge attitude, said Shope persuaded the van driver who drove the former Newfields first responder home from the hospital to his house last week to stop before they got to his house.

"There were 25 bicyclists, children and adults, who were riding around the van and some 200 yards from his home, he asks the driver if he can ride his wheelchair home with this pack of bikes. It was fantastic," Corson said.

Corson said Steve and his wife, Julie, along with all of their friends, cannot thank the community enough for their financial support.

But he said Shope's ongoing care and need for personal assistance will require ongoing fund-raising.

"There's been outstanding support from people, but we will continue to hold events to raise money for Steve and his family," Corson said.

"The best guy"

Jennifer MacPherson, a neighbor of the family, saw Shope last week.

"His spirit and his will to get better are an inspiration to all of us," she said. "He looks good and even though he's living with this horrific injury, he's determined to get better."

Like many others in town, MacPherson pointed to Shope's "phenomenal close circle of friends."

She said Shope's personality and his willingness to help others has his friends committed to raising money for him and his wife for as long as it's needed.

"Oh my God, he's just the best guy," MacPherson said. "You never saw Steve without him waving and smiling."

Mike Baillargeon, the fund-raising coordinator for the Exeter Lions Club, said Shope is "probably one of the nicest people you're ever going to meet."

Shope has a long history of volunteerism and public service, and when Baillargeon heard about the accident, he knew he had to help.

"He's got one of those outgoing personalities," Baillargeon said. "When he walks in a room, he brightens a room."

That's why the Lions Club, which also serves the town of Newfields, is holding a 5K walk on Aug. 22 to raise money for Shope and his family.

"It's going to cost a lot of money to get him to where he needs to be," Baillargeon said.

He said Shope has done countless things for the community — being a volunteer firefighter, serving on a town board and working hard to clean up the bike trails where he spent so much time.

"As a community, we need to stick together and help those in need," he said. "Steve is someone who's served this community without having to be asked, and now it's time to give back."

After the walk, the Newfields Fire Department is holding a cookout to benefit the family.

Helen Rist, principal of Newfields Elementary School, said students there decided to hold a coin drive before the end of the year to raise money.

"A lot of the families at the school and the children know Steve, he's highly involved with the town and the school," Rist said.

They hoped to raise $500, but raised more than $2,000 instead, she said.

When Shope passed the school, which is located near his house on his drive home, he saw a sign out front welcoming him home.

"That was our goal, to let him know the whole community is thinking about him," Rist said.

She said the town has rallied behind Shope and his family, in no small part because of the type of town Newfields is.

"It's very much a Norman Rockwell kind of community and the school is the center of the town," she said.

Shope said the response to his accident has been "overwhelming."

"We've had people who don't even know me who've donated time and materials for the house," he said. "People who've worked hours and hours on getting it handicapped-accessible."

Shope credited Newfields for being "a very tight-knit community," but said he has received a lot of support from Exeter, too.

"I was on the Exeter Trails Committee and many people from Exeter have reached out to me since the accident," Shope said.

Asked if he is comfortable now that he's home from the hospital, Shope said, "Overall I'm comfortable, but I get these nerve pains, which you learn to deal with."

He is hopeful the "spinal shock" he suffered when he crashed into a rock and broke his neck will wear off in time.

But his doctors were noncommittal about that possibility, he said.

"The doctors don't say very much about that, but when I was at Spaulding, I saw some remarkable recoveries," Shope said.

Shope acknowledged he struggled with his emotions after suffering his injuries while in the hospital, as anyone would.

"I think it is normal to be depressed after an accident such as this, and I started to get stronger when I saw all the support from my family and friends, and even from people that I have never met," he said.

Still, he acknowledges the financial issues he and his family face are considerable.

"We will have to hire personal care assistants, possibly for a number of years," he said.

But he also wants to get back to work, because he and his wife, Julie, have run their own company, Exeter Environmental Associates, for years.

But the most important thing Shope is dealing with now is trying to get better.

"I don't want to live my life as a quadriplegic," he said. "That's why I'm so determined to get better and get the use of my arms and legs back."

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